纽约时报 拜登加入竞选 声称要为国家的灵魂而战(2)

Mr. Biden enters the Democratic race as something of a front-runner,

尽管面临来自各方的挑战，以及民众对其长期以来的政治记录挥之不去的质疑，

albeit¹ one beset² by challenges from all flanks and looming³ questions about his long political record.

拜登几乎还是以领跑者的身份登上了民主党竞选名单。

Two of Mr. Biden’s populist rivals, Senators Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts,

拜登有两位民粹主义对手，一位是来自佛蒙特州的参议员伯尼·桑德斯，另一位是来自马萨诸塞州的参议员伊丽莎白·沃伦，

were already jabbing at his relationships with moneyed interests on Thursday.

周四，这两人就已经开始抨击他和有钱阶级的关系了。

And Mr. Biden’s allies believe he must soon explain to voters his evolution on a range of issues,

拜登的盟友也认为，他必须尽快向选民解释他在一系列问题上的进展，

including elemental ones like criminal justice, abortion⁴ rights and the Iraq war.

比如在刑事司法，堕胎权和伊拉克战争等基本问题上的进展。

In a sign he may recognize the urgency of that task,

或许，拜登已经在征兆中意识到了这项任务的紧迫性，

Mr. Biden recently spoke⁵ privately⁶ with Anita Hill,

因为最近他已经私下和安妮塔·希尔交谈过了，

who in 1991 was questioned harshly by a Senate committee led by Mr. Biden

原来，1991年妮塔·希尔在对现任最高法院法官克拉伦斯·托马斯提出性骚扰的指控后，

after she accused Clarence Thomas, now a Supreme⁷ Court justice, of sexual harassment⁸.

曾受到拜登领导的参议院委员会的严厉质询。

Mr. Biden expressed regret, according to an aide,

据一位助手说，拜登对他那次的行为表示很遗憾，

but in an interview Ms. Hill said she left the conversation feeling deeply unsatisfied and did not describe Mr. Biden as having apologized.

但希尔在接受采访时说，谈话结束时她感到非常不满，她也没提到拜登已经向她道歉。

Mr. Biden’s long-awaited entry effectively completes the list of Democratic candidates,

拜登这次被期待已久的入场有力地补全了民主党的候选名单，

a cast of 20 characters that is the most diverse presidential field ever.

名单上的20名候选人堪称是有史以来最多元的总统竞选阵营。

Atop it, for now, are two white men in their eighth decades of life — Mr. Biden and Mr. Sanders.

目前，高居榜首的是两位80多岁的白人男性——拜登和桑德斯。

Mr. Biden’s position as the leading Democratic candidate is an unfamiliar⁹ one for him.

民主党候选人首选这一资格对拜登来说并不很熟悉。

His two previous presidential bids, in 1988 and 2008, failed to catch on.

他前两次的总统竞选，一次是1988年，另一次是2008年，都没有成功。

Though he campaigned twice as former President Barack Obama’s running mate,

尽管拜登曾两次作为前总统巴拉克·奥巴马的竞选搭档参加（总统）竞选，

Mr. Biden has never been the starring actor in a major political production of his own inception¹⁰.

他还从来没有在他自己的大型政治版《盗梦空间》中担任过主角。

The overarching question of Mr. Biden’s campaign

拜登竞选要面临的首要问题是

is whether he can fill that role with sufficient competence¹¹ and imagination

他是否有足够的能力和想象力来胜任这个角色，

to both dispel¹² Democratic concerns about his personal discipline

消除民主党对他个人纪律的担忧，

and inspire younger voters for whom he is a relatively¹³ distant figure.

并激励年轻的选民，因为对这些选民来说，他和大家比较疏远。

He gave a brief preview on Thursday evening of how he might talk about issues besides Mr. Trump¹⁴,

周四晚上，他简要介绍了自己接下来可能会讨论特朗普之外的其他问题，

telling the fund-raising gathering¹⁵ that he would focus on “economic dignity” as an organizing concept.

他在筹款大会上表示，他将把“经济尊严”作为竞选的一个组织理念。

“My North Star of what we’re going to talk about, in terms of the economy,

“关于我们后期要讨论的问题，就经济而言，我的方针就是

is restoring the middle class, but looking at dignity, not just the G.D.P.,” said Mr. Biden.

复兴中产阶级，但不能只看GDP，也要看尊严，”拜登说。

1 albeit   

conj.即使；纵使；虽然

参考例句：

• Albeit fictional,she seemed to have resolved the problem.虽然是虚构的，但是在她看来好象是解决了问题。
• Albeit he has failed twice,he is not discouraged.虽然失败了两次，但他并没有气馁。

2 beset   

v.镶嵌；困扰，包围

参考例句：

• She wanted to enjoy her retirement without being beset by financial worries.她想享受退休生活而不必为金钱担忧。
• The plan was beset with difficulties from the beginning.这项计划自开始就困难重重。

3 looming   

n.上现蜃景（光通过低层大气发生异常折射形成的一种海市蜃楼）v.隐约出现，阴森地逼近( loom的现在分词 )；隐约出现，阴森地逼近

参考例句：

• The foothills were looming ahead through the haze. 丘陵地带透过薄雾朦胧地出现在眼前。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Then they looked up. Looming above them was Mount Proteome. 接着他们往上看，在其上隐约看到的是蛋白质组山。 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 回顾与展望

4 abortion   

n.流产，堕胎

参考例句：

• She had an abortion at the women's health clinic.她在妇女保健医院做了流产手术。
• A number of considerations have led her to have a wilful abortion.多种考虑使她执意堕胎。

5 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

6 privately   

adv.以私人的身份，悄悄地，私下地

参考例句：

• Some ministers admit privately that unemployment could continue to rise.一些部长私下承认失业率可能继续升高。
• The man privately admits that his motive is profits.那人私下承认他的动机是为了牟利。

7 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

8 harassment   

n.骚扰，扰乱，烦恼，烦乱

参考例句：

• She often got telephone harassment at night these days.这些天她经常在夜晚受到电话骚扰。
• The company prohibits any form of harassment.公司禁止任何形式的骚扰行为。

9 unfamiliar   

adj.陌生的，不熟悉的

参考例句：

• I am unfamiliar with the place and the people here.我在这儿人地生疏。
• The man seemed unfamiliar to me.这人很面生。

10 inception   

n.开端，开始，取得学位

参考例句：

• The programme has been successful since its inception.这个方案自开始实施以来一直卓有成效。
• Julia's worked for that company from its inception.自从那家公司开办以来，朱莉娅一直在那儿工作。

11 competence   

n.能力，胜任，称职

参考例句：

• This mess is a poor reflection on his competence.这种混乱情况说明他难当此任。
• These are matters within the competence of the court.这些是法院权限以内的事。

12 dispel   

vt.驱走，驱散，消除

参考例句：

• I tried in vain to dispel her misgivings.我试图消除她的疑虑，但没有成功。
• We hope the programme will dispel certain misconceptions about the disease.我们希望这个节目能消除对这种疾病的一些误解。

13 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

14 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

15 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。